For Anyone Struggling With NCLEX

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I am writing this post for anyone who is struggling with critical thinking with answering questions and has been studying the way I was.

During school it seemed like suddenly a light bulb went on in my friends. Suddenly they were able to answer the questions without much studying. The critical thinking and picking apart the questions clicked for them one day. I was still waiting for this moment to come.

The first time I took the NCLEX was a month after graduation and I felt like so long as I did a few questions (meaning only about 400 between Kaplan Qbank and NCLEX Mastery App) and brushed up on a little content, I was good to go. Kaplan's Qbank frustrated me because of the grammar and spelling issues. Plus, there were times I selected the correct answer, and the rationales agreed with me, but it marked me incorrect. I gave up on it. Obviously, I was too relaxed about studying and didn't pass.

The second time was about 5 months after graduation and I had begun to forget things since I hadn't used my skills or labs since clinical. I studied content for a good month and really made that my focus. I tried doing questions, but couldn't believe at the time that people did 100-200 questions per day. I did maybe 20-30 a day and went back to content from my ATI review book. I felt confident, but failed the exam again. I was crushed because I had studied so much, but my study habits were simply how I had studied during school. They give you all kinds of content with 50 slides, 100 pages to read, and then want you to do questions, so to me, that was how I should be doing it because I did it for two years in school.

By this time I took a long break and was feeling defeated by this impossible test. I had a friend recommend a book she did after she failed her first NCLEX attempt. It's the Kaplan 2015-2016 Strategies, Practice, and Review book that teaches you how to break down the questions. It really helped me a lot. I began answering most of the questions correct in the book. It's like things finally clicked for me like it had in my nursing friends back in school. I decided to branch out and get the NCSBN 3 week course since they create the test it should show me exactly what they want me to learn. I liked that their course offered a structured plan to keep me in line (they have a study plan you can download for what to do in the 3 weeks, 5 weeks, etc.) Theirs teaches you a condensed version of content that highlights things you need to know and then let you take quizzes to see how much you picked up. I also used the NCLEX Mastery App on my phone again to get going with questions. After finishing the NCSBN course I still didn't feel ready to go a third time with the NCLEX, so I searched on the forums here to see what people were using now. UWorld seemed very popular for a question bank and had great reviews. I purchased the 30-day question bank. I LOVED it. It has just over 1700 questions and the rationales are amazing. They really give detailed explanations and pictures, which I feel Kaplan's online Qbank is lacking in. By the time I felt confident to take the NCLEX I had roughly 200 questions left in this question bank. Meanwhile, I also went back to my old ATI tests that I had done online during school. I wanted to see how my scores compared between then and now since I was answering questions with critical thinking. My scores jumped 20% from what I had in school and I finally felt ready. Two days ago I took the NCLEX and passed!

My bottom line is: study how every one is saying to study. DO the 100-200 questions a day! If you are struggling with how to answer them, try the Kaplan strategy book. You really do have to do questions because studying content is NOT enough to show how you are applying it. Do not take the NCLEX until you really are feeling like things clicked and you're getting the critical thinking. I felt so much more comfortable answering the questions when I took it this time because I had already been answering lots of these questions daily and the nice thing about UWorld is their online version looks exactly like the NCLEX does on their computers (it's also available as an app on your phone.) The same colors, same ‘Next' button at the bottom of the right-hand screen. It felt like I was doing more questions at home when I took it at the testing center's computer.

I would also like to add for anyone who lives in Iowa to check the Iowa Board of Nursing web site if they are anxiously waiting for results after NCLEX. The web site updates 3 days a week – Mon/Wed/Fri with various updates. When you first sign up it says Approved to Test” under application status. The first two times I took the NCLEX it changed to Pending Re-exam” under my application status within the first day of taking it. This time it said Ready Issue” (meaning passed) after 12 hours of taking it on a Wednesday. Also, under the ‘Secure Access' tab you can enter your last name and last 4 of your SSN and it will show your name (this is here whether you pass/fail). Click your last name and it will show your license number when it becomes active on any of the 3 days they update their site.

Good luck everyone!

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Congratulations!! My test is in 9 days (with work in between) and I'm really nervous. I've been out of school for more than a year and have never taken the nclex. I get that feeling too about the critical thinking not "clickin" and that's why I kept postponing it, plus work, and anxiety. I was too focused on what people will think (esp. My parents) when I fail. I finally got over that and decided to really take the exam. I am currently using Uworld and I love it also! First time I finished the qbank my average was 56% but I still did not feel ready. Second time, my average went up to 64%. I'm hoping it's not just because I remembered the answers for some of the questions (memorization)... but I still feel like I learned so much from Uworld. I can't wait to be an RN like you and go back to school. Congrats again!

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I live in Iowa also. It has been 24 hours since testing (today is a Tuesday but my classmates got license numbers on tuesdays) and my Status says "ready issue" does this really mean I passed? I am driving myself CRAZY waiting.

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how long did it take from being on "Ready Issue" to seeing your license number on the secured access tab?

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